The Unexpected Meeting

Dream dodged through the trees, his white tail swishing behind him. I have to stay ahead of those things!

Several hairless creatures wearing green chased after him, their metal weapons glinting in the setting sunlight.

Dream's legs ached, but he didn’t slow down. Come on. Where are you? He scanned the foliage ahead of him for any signs of the shade.


It slipped between shadows several paces ahead of him.

There you are! Dream felt the urge to initiate his own shade abilities, but kept them in check. He wanted to spend as little time in that form as possible. But with those things behind me… He shook his head. There is no way I can create an illusion.

The shouts behind him seemed to dwindle, as the slippery shade was almost in range. It flickered in and out of the shadows down an old worn path heading straight for a cave.

You’re not getting away that easy! He pumped his weary legs, urging himself to catch up.

It slid into the cave, vanishing into the shadows without a trace.

Dream stopped just outside the cave. He rested his hands on his knees and caught his breath. No way was he just going to walk into the shadowy trap that awaited him.

A ghostly cackle came from within the cave taunting him.

“You’re not fooling me,” he growled. He lifted his hands, orange light flickering from his palms.

“I think it’s over here!”

“Be careful, men!”

Dream clenched his fists. Not again! He dove into the cave, bolting towards the back. I have to find a place to hi—

The ground vanished beneath his feet, sending him plummeting.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

Still falling, he unleashed his shade abilities. His fur and clothes melted away into purple silhouettes, and his blue eyes flashed white. Melding with the shadows, he reached the bottom of the pit unharmed.

Resting in the shadow of a pillar, he looked up at the height he dropped from. The top of the hole looked like a coin on the ceiling. He groaned. That will take forever to scale, even as a shade. Speaking of … He scanned his surroundings.

Old columns, a mat of golden flowers and a doorway topped with a strange insignia.

He frowned. People live down here? He shook his head. Focus, Dream. Focus! He looked for any signs of the other shade, any amorphous movements anywhere, but nothing stood out.

Drat.


“Hello?”

Dream jumped and flattened himself against the wall.

A large form padded into the room. “Is anyone here?” a feminine voice called.

Dream risked a glance.

A white creature with long drooping ears and a pair of short horns stepped out of the deeper shadows. Robed in a purple dress, she walked with an air of dignity. Woven into her dress was a white insignia, matching the one above the door.

She looks kind-of like a goat…

“Do not be frightened,” she said. “I am Toriel, keeper of the RUINS.” She glanced in Dream’s direction. “I only wish to help you.”

Dream shrank back against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut. Please don’t see me like this!

The goat woman—Toriel’s footsteps continued away from him.

Dream relaxed, opening his eyes. That was close.

“Toriel?”

Dream snapped his attention toward the door. Now, what?!

A person smaller than Toriel came from the shadows. Definitely shorter. But they had a set of horns that were quite a bit longer than Toriel’s.

Dream squinted. Are they antlers?

The person stepped into the fainter shadows, revealing a fawn colored girl wearing jeans and a striped shirt. Her pale antlers stood out against her brown hair. “Is everything alright?” she asked.

Toriel faced her as she stood by the farthest cave wall. “I’m sorry, Jazz,” she said, walking across the room. “I must be hearing things again.” Her voice trembled.

Jazz smiled at her, a hint of concern in her eyes. “God knows what He’s doing,” she said gently.

Dream furrowed his brows. What’s god got to do with anything?

Toriel laughed. “You certainly believe that, don’t you?” she asked, wiping her eyes.

“I try to.”

A hiss came from the shadows across from Dream.

Dream tensed. He’s still here.

~~~

Jazz snapped her attention in the direction of the sound. What was that?! Is it Flowey, again? She trembled.

Toriel shifted in front of Jazz. “Who’s there?” she asked, voice resonating with authority.

A scratchy laugh responded from the shadows.

Toriel raised her hands, balls of fire forming in her palms. “Show yourself.”

Jazz shuddered. I’m not sure I want them to…

A purple mass leapt from the darkness, white eyes flashing. Slicing through the air, it plunged like a dagger into Toriel’s chest, vanishing from view. Toriel gasped, falling to her knees.  

“Toriel!” Jazz screamed, dropping to her friend’s side. “Are you alright?”

Toriel trembled, her long white ears blocking Jazz’s view of her face, chest heaving as if in a fight.

What was that? God, what do I do? How do I help her?

“You may want to stand back.”

Jazz jumped. Whirling around towards the voice, a white monster with pointed ears stood behind her. A strange orange glow came from his gloves, making his red pupils look even more frightening against his blue eyes.

“W- What do you mean?” Jazz stammered.

Toriel groaned and her breathing eased.

Jazz turned her attention back to her friend. “Toriel?”

An otherworldly growl responded.

Jazz stiffened. “T– Toriel? What’s—”

Toriel backhanded Jazz across the face, throwing her to the ground.

Jazz’s cheek throbbed as she scrambled back across the rough stone, eyes watering. “Toriel, what’s wrong?!”

Toriel rose to her feet, glaring down at Jazz with white pupil-less eyes.

Jazz gasped. She’s demon possessed!

A ball of fire built in Toriel’s palm.

God, what do I do?!

Toriel launched the fireball at Jazz. Jazz clambered to her feet and out of range, the fire splashing against the stone floor.

“Toriel, stop!” she screamed.

Toriel roared, balls of fire collecting in both hands. She threw them one after the other at Jazz.

Jazz scrambled around the room, ducking and dodging. God, what do I do?! Jazz sidestepped a fireball. Golden flowers caught on fire. Jazz panted. What should I do?

A bird-like screech filled the air.

Jazz stopped to see a flaming orange phoenix dive at Toriel.

Toriel ducked to the side throwing a fireball at it. But the fireball went right through the bird, completely unharming it.

Jazz stared at the fiery bird. A phoenix! She took a deep breath. Jesus is the light in the darkness. Jazz clenched her fists. And I should be, too.

Toriel threw a string of fireballs at the blue-eyed monster who stood off to the side, his brows knit together like he was under a lot of strain. Maintaining his hands in the air, he shuffled out of the line of fire as each ball came within a hairsbreadth of him.

I need to distract Toriel. Jazz bit her lip. But how do I not hurt her? Jazz formed a star between her hands. Here goes nothing. She threw it up into the air.

The star’s white light lit up the darkness, drawing Toriel’s attention. A low growl came from her throat.

Jazz swallowed. Jesus, I can’t do this on my own. She trembled as she allowed her purple heart-shaped SOUL to become fully visible. Only You can set her free. She let out a deep breath. “In the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her!” she shouted.

Toriel flinched, a hiss escaping her clenched teeth. She lunged forward, dodging the phoenix’s second dive and throwing a ball of fire in Jazz’s direction.

Jazz sidestepped the fireball as it whizzed harmlessly by. Jazz stepped forward, white light radiating from within her SOUL. “In the name of Jesus Christ, leave her ALONE!”

Light flashed around her SOUL, and a blazing white phoenix flew out and into Toriel’s chest.

Toriel shrieked, as the white phoenix came out the other side dragging the purple shadow into the light. Toriel collapsed, unmoving on the ground.

Jazz dashed to her friend’s side. Toriel’s chest rhythmically rose and fell. She’s alive. Jazz let out a sigh of relief. The screeching above made Jazz look up.

The white phoenix backed away from the demon as the orange phoenix came within range. The demon tried to flap its bat-like wings out of the way, but the orange phoenix grabbed onto it. Squealing, the demon struggled as the phoenix collapsed around it, reshaping into a sort of cage.

Jazz started. What? How is that—

The cage descended to the ground and another demon strode toward it.

Jazz gasped. She wrapped her arms around Toriel’s limp shoulders. God, please don’t let them—

The demon in the cage snarled, trying to break free. The other one raised its claws and slashed the space beside the cage, a ragged gash appearing out of thin air. Before Jazz could blink, the free demon had grabbed the restrained one, dispelling the cage, and threw it into the purple hole. Wiping his hand across the hole, the tear vanished.

Jazz stared. What just happened?

The demon turned towards them breathing heavily.

Jazz jolted out of her trance. “S– Stay away from us!” she shouted.

The white-eyed silhouette raised his hands defensively, before the purple melted off revealing the odd white monster. “Calm down, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said lowering his gloved hands.

Jazz blinked. “W– Who are you?” she asked in a shaky voice.

“My name’s Dream,” he said, crossing his arms.

Jazz swallowed. Don’t make any assumptions. “What … are you … exactly?”

Dream raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never heard of a shade before?”

Jazz shook her head. “No. Not really.”

Toriel moaned and shifted on the ground.

Jazz released her grip on Toriel and gently shook her. “Toriel? Are you alright?”

Toriel opened her bleary eyes and sat up slowly. “My child?” She ran a hand along her temple. “What happen—?” Her eyes widened in shock.

Jazz turned to see what she was looking at. A patch of golden flowers smoldered into blackened ash.

“Oh, no.” Tears welled up in Toriel’s eyes. She turned to Jazz, her eyes becoming even more horrified. “Oh, my dear.” Toriel tentatively reached a hand toward Jazz's face.

Jazz resisted the urge to rub her cheek. It didn’t hurt as badly as before, but it still smarted.

Toriel withdrew her hand. “I’m … I’m so sorry,” she said, voice cracking. She covered her face, shoulders shaking with her tears.

“It’s— It’s okay, Toriel,” Jazz said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t mean to do it.”

“But I did it just the same,” she wept. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you.” She pulled her hands away from her eyes. “Is there any way you could forgive me?”

Jazz wrapped her arms around her. “Of course, I will.”

Toriel sighed with relief and returned the hug. “Thank you, my child.”

A forced cough came from nearby.

Jazz pulled back. “Oh! Toriel, meet our new friend.” She turned to Dream. “This is Dream. He’s the monster that helped us.”

Dream screwed up his face. “Monster? I’m not a monster. I’m—”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dream,” Toriel said wiping her eyes.

Dream shut his mouth and nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Toriel.”

Toriel rose to her feet with dignity, while Jazz stood up and brushed off her pants.

Dream turned to Jazz. “And you are?”

She flushed. “Oh, sorry. My name is Jazzelle, but you can call me Jazz.” She held out a hand to Dream. He hesitated but shook it.

“Would you like to come in and have some butterscotch-cinnamon pie?” Toriel offered.

Again, Dream hesitated.

“I made it myself.”

Dream pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded. “Sure. That sounds great.”

Toriel smiled. “Wonderful!” She started towards the doorway. “Come right this way. There are lots of puzzles here in the RUINS, so stay close.”

Dream raised an eyebrow at Jazz, his incredulous face seeming to say, “Is she serious?”

Jazz giggled. “You get used to them. Come on. She said to stay close.”

~~~

Dream set his fork down on his empty plate. Leaning back from the table, he sighed with contentment. “That was the best thing I’ve eaten in years.” In hundreds of years, to be honest.

Toriel giggled. “I’m glad to hear it. It’s not very often I have company,” she said.

Dreams’ smile faded slightly. I should be going. Who knows how many more shades need to be caught out there. Dream glanced around Toriel’s quaint living room. A welcoming fire, plenty to read— He glanced between Jazz and Toriel. A couple of new … “friends”. He pressed his lips into a firm line. This would be the greatest place to get lost and forget I have a job to do.

Jazz leaned on the table. “So, Dream, you said you were a ‘shade’?”

Dream turned to her. “Yeah, I used to be a mindless chaos causer out to do The Witch’s every bidding.” He sighed. “Now, it’s my job to stop them.”

Toriel’s eyes widened. “A witch controlled you?”

Dream nodded sullenly. “And she still has hundreds of other shades doing her will.” Others like me. He clenched his fist. “Which is why I should be going.” He stood up from the table.

Toriel sat up straight. “But – you can’t leave.”

Dream frowned at her. Is she trying to keep me hostage? “Why not?” he asked in a challenging tone.

Toriel folded her hands in front of her. “Because of the seal – the barrier… You can’t get through.”

Dream furrowed his puzzled brows. “Barrier? What barrier? I didn’t see one when I fell in.”

“I didn’t either,” Jazz said. “But it doesn’t mean it’s not there.”

Dream glanced from Jazz to Toriel, reading the sincerity in both their eyes. Is this some kind of trick? “I have to get back to the surface,” he stated.

“I understand that,” Toriel said gently, “but the barrier cannot be helped.”

This is just great. “Can’t you just combine your … abilities against the barrier to break it?” Dream asked, irritation rising.

Toriel looked down. “Unfortunately, not.” He eyes shifted as she stared through the table top, apparently lost in thought.

Jazz rested a hand on Toriel’s shoulder. The goat woman turned toward her. Jazz smiled at her, that look of concern in her eyes, again. “We’ll find a way to get through, Toriel.”

Toriel smiled a little forcefully. “Of course, my dear. Of course.”

“I can still try crawling out of the pit as a shade,” Dream mumbled under his breath.

Toriel rose from the table. “I’ll start washing the dishes,” she said, gathering the empty plates.

Jazz stood up. “I’ll help.”

Toriel smiled at her. “No, no. It’s alright.” She turned away with her armload of dishes, humming as she strode into the kitchen.

Jazz tipped her head to the side as she watched her go, but sat back down. Jazz leaned her head against her hand, brows slightly furrowed.

Dream edged towards the hallway. If I can make it out of the house, I can turn into a shade and be out of here in no ti—

“Dream?” Jazz asked looking up at him.

Dang it.

“What is a ‘shade’ exactly?”

Dream raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t know what a shade is, do you?”

Jazz shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

Dream sighed. “Where do I begin?” he mumbled taking his seat again. “Basically, they’re anyone that The Witch doesn’t like.”

Jazz frowned. “What do you mean?”

Dream rolled his eyes. “I mean, that The Witch puts a curse on anyone she likes – or dis-likes – and turns them into a shade.”

Jazz’s mouth dropped open. “You mean— They’re all people under the witch’s curse?”

Dream shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“But— But how do you fight them without hurting them?”

Dream leaned back in his chair. “Physical attacks typically don’t work on them, so I use my illusions to try to capture them instead.”

“Like the phoenix?” Jazz asked.

Dream nodded. “Yeah, just like the —” He paused, then turned toward her. “How did you do it?”

Jazz furrowed her brows, puzzled. “Do what?”

He looked at her. “How did you get that shade to come out of …” He glanced toward the kitchen before turning back to Jazz.

Jazz’s face flushed, making the rest of her face match the color of her reddened cheek. “You think I did that?”

Dream frowned. “That white phoenix came from you, didn’t it? So, how’d you do it?”

Jazz glanced down at the table, scratching the base of one of her antlers. “That … wasn’t me…”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean exactly that,” she said looking him in the eye. “It wasn’t me. It was God.”

Dream raised an eyebrow. “God?” he asked. Not this, again. “Look, all I know is that physical attacks don’t affect shades. Only illusions do. And yet you were able to create a non-physical attack to get it out of her.”

“But it wasn’t me…” Jazz said simply. “I can’t do that. But God is spirit and He is able to do that.”

She’s not going to tell me. He sighed and decided to change the subject. “So, how did all of you … ‘monsters’ get sealed underground?”

Jazz stared at him, eyes wide with shock. “You don’t know?”

Dream frowned. “No… Should I?”

A puzzled frown flickered across Jazz’s face. “Well…” She scratched her head. “It’s a long story,” she admitted.

Dream shifted in his seat. Should I stick around? I have other things I could be doing…

The sound of Toriel humming from the kitchen and the soft crackle of the fire made a sort of peaceful atmosphere that Dream hadn’t experienced in ages.

He let out a heartfelt sigh. What’s a few more minutes? Leaning back in his chair, he said, “Go ahead and tell me.” He smirked. “I’ve got all eternity.”

Jazz looked up at him, mouth open in surprise. Shutting her mouth, she smiled and nodded, a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Alright,” she said. “It all started about seventeen years ago…”